Lift Me
by linglingchan
Summary: EXPERIMENTAL STORY.  Fate was a twisted thing.  She felt herself fall.  Falling deeper and deeper into the chasm of despair.  "Lift me up."  She begged.  "Lift me up and end me."  Slightly dark story.
1. Chapter 1

An EXPERIMENTAL story. I'll see how this goes.

This story is a little on the dark side. Blood and Gore.

I do not own Inuyasha or GetBackers.

* * *

"The cicadas is caught

the children are cruel

rip apart its wings

rip apart its legs

the poor cicadas

nothing but a children's toy."

Dark, dark, the room was almost pitch black. A single candle in the middle of the room provided barely enough light to see the contents of the desk it rested upon. Diagrams, calculations, equations and plans. The papers strewn across the metal desk were filled with anatomical and biological studies. Titanium alloy blocks, metal-based implant. They too lay on the table, being used as cheap paperweights to keep the flyaway papers from blowing away, the strong air currents from the air ducts proved a formidable foe to the paper's owner.

A tune floated through the air, soft and haunting. "…ip apart it's legs, the poor cicadas, nothi…" The voice, gentler then wind chimes blowing in the breeze, contrasted the cold and hard feel of the metal-based room. The voice continued, the song kept going, ending and then starting again. A door opened, ceasing the voice of it's melodious round.

"Stop humming that fucking creepy tune." A gruff voice, cold and smooth, commanded. The girl did as she was told, though a small and almost inaudible intake of breath sounded from her lips. There was a small click and the room was suddenly flooded with light.

The girl made a sound of discomfort at the sudden invasion of light on her retinas. She slowly opened her eyes in a squint, the true horror of the room being revealed to her. Several other groans of discomfort and pain sounded through the room. She looked at the blood and she looked at the bodies. She looked at her comrades of pain. The bloodstained concrete floors, the bloodstained faces. She kept the bile at bay. Her eyes, no longer the brilliant blue they once were, watered.

Through the sounds of moaning and groaning, she heard footsteps approach her place. She began to weep. "Little Kagome. Sweet Kagome. _Innocent_ Kagome" The voice chuckled. He was closing in on her. She moved her hands and was met with the all too familiar restraints. The cool metal bit into her tender and raw skin, causing more blood to flow from her wrist. "Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage…" She closed her eyes.

A hand gently rested on her cheek. She began to shake. The hand went to here eye and forcibly opened it, a light shining into the dull and flat blue, her pupils dilated. Her lips went into a thin line together, stopping herself from crying out in fear. She looked at his face. This man. This despicable, disgusting, horrible man. His red eyes shone despite his position blocking out the light, it chilled her to her spine. It was like a hungry animal on the verge of death discovering a carcass. A vulture.

He released her eyelids and stood straight up. He looked at the girl, no older than 18, stare at him with dull blue eyes. Her long raven, ebony hair was matted and dull, a tangled mess. Her face, though a very pretty picture, was smeared with dried red and fear. The blood had certainly drained from her face, as she was as pale as a white sheet of paper. Her thin and gangly limbs jittered in their metal restraints, the wrist and ankle bleeding from the constant abuse of the cold metal. She was a beautiful portrait of pain, fear, and tragedy.

A stethoscope was put to his ears, his hand holding the small bell towards her chest. He pushed apart the ragged and dirty long, white dress shirt, the bell traveling between buttons, her modesty kept. She gasped slightly at the biting cold bell. The moans and groans of pain echoed through the room along with her whimpers of fear and anxiety. She shook under the cool metal bell's touch, her breathing erratic and uneven. He smiled, a trace of mirth or happiness nowhere to be found. He smiled a malicious smile. He pulled the now lukewarm apparatus away from her fearful body.

She looked up at his red eyes, her broken ones already knowing what the smile on his face meant. "Little Kagome, you seem to be in good shape today. Looks like you just saved your 'comrades' from more pain." He chuckled at the word comrade. He turned away from her, just as he was about the exit the door he told her, "I'll be back after I finish my preparations, Little Kagome." Leaving the room, leaving the girl, leaving the moans.

She despaired and cried her pain and fear to herself. Silently.

* * *

"_Kagome, Kagome, Kago no naka no tori wa_ _…_" A woman in her late 30's sat in the small café, her face sullen and pale. Lithe fingers traced the rim of her teacup gently as she mumbled the small haunting tune. "_Itsu, itsu, deyaru?"_ She paused her soft humming and took the cup and gently brought it to her lips, the cold tea ran through her tongue bitterly.

Wan Paul stared at the woman from behind his tinted shades. She sat in that spot for at least three hours now. When she entered the store she had politely, asked whether or not a duo of young retrieval agents frequented the place to which he answered with a yes. She gave him a small smile and sat at her spot, ordering a cup of tea that was now ice cold in front of her, still a third full. He sighed, this woman was patient, he'd give her that.

Mrs. Higurashi was a woman of many things. She was a daughter, she was a wife, but she came to this small café, near the heart of the grittiest area of Shinjuku, to fulfill her duties as a mother. She clenched the ear of the small teacup, her face staying neutral but her heart burned. She was in pain. She had to be strong though. She didn't let herself crack. She couldn't let herself crack. Her mind didn't get an ounce of sleep for the past five months, her thoughts running in circles, thinking of theories, finding traces, and wondering _why_. _Why,why why? _Why was it that something like this could have gotten out? 'Ushiro no shoumen daare?' Indeed, who twisted that sharp knife into their backs?

She snapped out of her thought when a sudden clink sounded in front of her. Wan Paul smiled at her, a small plate with a sandwich was placed in front of her. She looked at the rusty-haired man and returned the smile with a small one of her own. "Thank you very much." She said softly, her hand going to her ear, tucking the short hair behind it. Wan Paul just smiled and sat across from her. "It's nothing ma'am. I should apologize to you, those fools are probably out on the streets looking for clients right now, not realizing they already have one waiting for them. Even taking my waitress…" Mrs. Higurashi chuckled at the man in front of her and his grumbling complaint.

There was an awkward silence. Wan Paul straightened his glasses and observed the woman. She seemed out of place in this area of the city. This is where thugs and gangsters liked to hang, usually under the cover of darkness. The woman in front of him was dressed neatly, her pale face, albeit a bit tired with dark circles, was calm and kind. He watched as she took a bite of the sandwich. "So, have you lost something important to you?" She chewed and placed the sandwich back down and swallowed. She looked back up at the man and gave him a small smile. He saw the emptiness of it and it shook him. This woman was very close to being broken, it showed in her demeanor and most obviously in her eyes. A humorless chuckle escaped her lips and she spoke. "The sandwich is very delicious…" "Wan Paul" "…ah, Wan Paul-san. Thank you very much for it. As for what I have lost, I'd rather talk about it when the retrieval agents arrive. My apologies."

She was like stone. She was cool. She was calm. She was unmoving. Wan Paul found himself impressed by her. "That's fine Mrs…?", "Higurashi", "…Higurashi. I was just being too nosy. It's not often those idiots get a client that would so patiently wait for them." Once again, Mrs. Higurashi chuckled softly. The laughter was well rehearsed to the point that it seemed convincing. Seemed.

A sudden bang, clang, and rush interrupted their polite conversation. Like a comic book, two young men more or less shoved their way into the small diner, a young girl in tow. They argued and fought. They were quite young.

"Oi, Paul! Anything to eat today?" Wan Paul answered the rude brunette with a sharp glare. "Yeah, when you pay your tab. Besides, aren't you missing something important from this picture right now?" Wan Paul shook his head, his eyes glances towards the way of Mrs. Higurashi. She just gave the two young men a polite, well-practiced smile. Natsume made her way behind the counter, preparing tea for the guest and what would soon become a consultation.

"Wahhh! A client!" Ginji's ever-present energy was soon diminished when Ban placed his hand around the blonde's mouth. "Shut up you idiot, we need to get our act together." The duo scrambled for a second before confronting the woman.

Mrs. Higurashi was already out of her seat with a hand outstretched towards the young, brown-haired man. "So you two are the GetBackers?" Ban took the hand and shook it, his hand engulfing the smaller woman's. He nodded to the question and sat at the spot that was previously taken by Wan Paul, the man having returned to his duties behind the counter. Mrs. Higurashi returned to her own seat looked at the two young men in front of her. They were very young, exuberant, and had the aura of a tornado. She sighed before she began, a whirlwind of emotions threatening to overthrow her authority of cool-headed calm.

"Midou, Ban. Amano, Ginji. You two certainly make quite the duo." Natsume came from behind the counter, rejuvenating the once cold cup of tea. She gave thanks and sipped. Bitter and scalding. The duo listened to the madam. "Last man with the evil eye. Former ruler of VOLTS and ex-resident of Mugen-jou. Interesting indeed."

At the second she mentioned their personal information, the two stiffened. She was a peculiar woman and a well-informed woman at that. Ban leaned back, his intuition was telling him that this would not be some kind of simple job. The woman in front of the duo was more or less oddly placed. He lit a cigarette. "I see you like to do a little background check before hiring people." The woman just gave them a small laugh. Emotionless. "Yes, just to check who would get the job done right. A precautionary if you must." Ban took a long drag. "And why would you pick us out of all the retrievers in the business?"

Mrs. Higurashi looked at the young brunette and the silent blond. They were both calculating. Yes, she did indeed pick the right ones. She turned to her purse that was lying next to her. She reached in and took out a photo. The two watched her every action with curiosity. "Please retrieve this for me." The photo, almost every inch of it was bright. The middle was a girl. No, she was a young woman. Happy. The word that they could use to describe her was happy. Her face was pulled into a laughing smile, her eyes closed to the world at that instance. Her raven hair that landed upon her shoulders reached just a little above her mid-back. Her school uniform was clean and neat. The white picket fence, girl next door type if you will. So happy.

"Her name is Higurashi, Kagome, my daughter. She has been missing for the past five months. The police have been informed of her disappearance but are powerless." She glanced at them. They were looking at the photo intensely, burning the image into their mind. She smiled, professionals. "I promise, I will pay any sum of money if you can just return this girl back to us."

Ban flipped the photo around, checking around it, every angle. He stubbed out his cigarette and threw the photo at Ginji. "That's it? Any other information you want to tell us?" Ginji curiously checked the photo just as Ban had, he had to admit, the girl was quite pretty. A natural beauty, no makeup or photo touch-up. Natural beauty in Shinjuku? Quite a rarity.

The corner of her lips lifted. Mysterious smile. "All traces of her existence have disappeared. She was last seen entering Mugen-jou." Ban raised his brow while Ginji's breath caught. Mugen-jou. Hell. What would make an ordinary girl like her go into a place like that? Ban looked at Mrs. Higurashi inquisitively. "Who was the last person to see her go in?"

"My son, Souta Higurashi. They were on their way home when she just left him."

"Do you know why she would go into a place like that?"

"No. But maybe the answers will be clear when you find her for me."

Mrs. Higurashi stood from her seat. An envelope out of her purse and onto the table. "Here is the payment upfront. You'll get the rest afterwards. Triple." And she gave a polite bow and left them. Left them with questions in their head and a brown envelope on the table.

"Ban-chan. We're taking this job right?" Ban silently took the envelope and opened it. "What… Is that woman?" A total sum of 2.5 million yen and a phone number. Close to thirty thousand US dollars. Why this much money from a middle classed family?

Ginji clutched the photo. The girls face was truly entrancing to him. Ban glanced at the photo and looked at the girl. Truly a happy person. Taking out another cigarette, he lit it and dragged. Lifting his arm, he draping it on Ginji's shoulder lazily. "Yeah, let's take it. You seem interested and this woman has done her research to make sure that she got the former leader of VOLTS. Besides, three times the pay if we get this done sounds pretty good to me." Ban took the picture from Ginji and placed it in the front pocket of his shirt.

He took another drag and blew.

* * *

'Kami-sama. Kami-sama. Have you forsaken me?'

The man with red eyes gasped. A crazed grin. His chest heaved, having overexerted his body from the intense activities he had just partaken in. His face was dripping with sweat. His hands trembled, red saturating him, wrapping around his fingers. The warm blood created a mask on his hand. Red.

"Very good Little Kagome."

The girl lay bloodstained in front of him. Unmoving.

"The cicadas is caught

the children are cruel

rip apart its wings

rip apart its legs

the poor cicadas

nothing but a children's toy."

Soft tune. The man threw his head back and gave out a crazed, loud laughter. Insanity. "You certainly love that song Little Kagome! That song!" He laughed and laughed. She lay on the metallic table. Unmoving.

"…Kami-sama…"

* * *

Just for your information, there's a children's game in Japan called "Kagome Kagome" You can learn more about it on Wikipedia. The deeper meaning to it is what Mrs. Higurashi is refering to.

This is an EXPERIMENTAL story. Please give any feedback you have. I'll follow information from the manga storyline.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Inuyasha or Get Backers.

* * *

"Higurashi, Kagome." Ginji turned his attention to his partner. "Higurashi, Kagome. What a nice name." Ginji echoed his partner. He took the photo from Ban's hand and checked it over again. They had both been doing the same thing, meticulously checking the photo, ever since they received it. Why was this girl captivating them so?

Ban proceeded to rest his arms on the countertop of Honky Tonk's, his head propped up on his open palm, and took a long drag from his dying cigarette. Flipping his notebook open he began to recite. "Higurashi, Kagome, she's just a little under 18 now. Born and raised in the better part of Tokyo, resident and miko of Higure shrine." Ginji perked. "Miko? As in a shrine maiden, right?" Ban closed his booklet. "Yeah, those old hags you get that con high school girls and perform flashy dances during festivals. Real con artist these days."

Ginji looked back at the photo. Smiling face. "But the girls at her old school say differently Ban-chan."

"_She scary… that sick girl."_

"_She cursed people she didn't like."_

"_She was a witch."_

"_Her fortunes are never wrong. Misfortunes."_

"…_she needed sacrifices to sustain her body."_

"Hmph, like I said. Con artists." Another smoke. Another puff. "Besides, I know a witch when I see one." Ginji looked at the photo again. How could someone like this be anything close to a witch? That smiling face beamed at him. There was no way this girl could have gained the title of a witch. Everything in the picture screamed of a girl who would be well liked in school.

Ban glanced at his partner. "There was another rumor going around saying she had been sick a lot. Sick with a number of unbelievable diseases." Falsities. Ginji's brows furrowed. "But she looks so healthy here. This picture was taken just around six months back. There's no way they're talking about the same girl."

"That's why this case stinks of lies. Something is wrong with that family." Ban took in the last of the cancer stick before stubbing it out in the ashtray. He breathed out the smoke and snatched the photo from Ginji's grasp. "There's something odd about this girl. It seems that she had been involved with school activities up until she turned 15. It's like after that, the records and information on her dwindle away. The only recent photo taken of her is the one Mrs. Higurashi gave us and that's already six months old." Just like Ginji, the picture enraptured him. Enraptured to the point where his curiosity for the case out ruled his want for the money. She was nothing like the women he usually went for but at the same time, he wasn't sure he saw her the way he looked at those women. Not lust. Curiosity. No, she wasn't a woman either. She was a girl. A too-happy girl.

The soft chiming of bells interrupted the duo's conversation. They looked towards the direction of the door. Ban growled. "Fucking monkey-boy and thread spools." An even more impressive growl. "Snake-bitch." Ginji sighed. Inevitable confrontations. "Mah, mah, let's all be friends here. Thanks for coming Shido, Kazu-chan!" The Maruido survivor smiled at the blond. The more tolerable one in the duo.

"That's how you treat the person that helps you get information on a mission? How unprofessional of you Midou, Ban." Kazuki held up a file. Golden information. "We got all the information we could from MakubeX about any unusual disturbances in Lower Town. I'm not sure but I think this might shed some light on your case." The file was more or less tossed at Ban's face, which he peeled of afterwards and went through, grumbling about transvestite seamstresses.

There was silence in the café as Ban read through the file quickly. Ginji looked over his shoulder and scanned it for anything that would be of interest. Shido and Kazuki took a seat beside the blond, finding the brunette harder to bear with and Ginji a pleasant company. They waited. The two former VOLTS members looked at the duo with mild curiosity. The two came to them a day ago, requesting information about the happenings of Mugen-jou. Kazuki smiled at them. "It seems like you guys picked up an interesting case. I hope it's nothing like IL." All jokes in good humor but darkly tinted. Ban kept flipping. "Nothing like that, just a girl gone missing."

This perked the interest of the Fuuchouin heir and beast master. Girls that go missing in Mugen-jou… "Her family will never see her again. Girls that go missing in there, stay there. Dead if they're lucky, alive to be some kind of toy or experiment." Shido looked at them for a reaction. Ban just closed the file and placed it back on the desk, along with the photo. Kazuki took it and looked. How sweet and innocent. "This girl's mother, she came by yesterday personally to find us. She waited three hours and told that we specifically are perfect for the job. I think there's more to this case then what she lets on. Besides, there has been some odd stuff going on in Lower Town it seems."

Kazuki passed the photo to Shido and waited for Ban to continue. Shido glanced that the picture. He smiled. The girl reminded him of Madoka. Same smile. Same laughing face. Madoka. He placed the picture down when Ban began.

"If you idiots read the file, there's been a congregation of thugs going around the east-side entrance of Lower Town. Seems as though there's a murmur in that area. A genius body modifier. That's around the same place this girl was last seen." Truly odd. Where there is a body modifier, there are always test subjects. They all looked at the photo from the corner of their eyes. Smiling girl. Poor girl.

The deduction left a bitter taste in Ginji's mouth. That sweet looking girl, gone from her family to be a lab rat. Cruel fate. "But isn't that odd Ban-chan?" Attention was given to him. "I mean, the younger brother said that she voluntarily went over to Mugen-jou. She just up and left him while walking home together." Why was this case filled with so many blanks and questions? This girl was a mystery. A very innocent, smiling jigsaw. Uneven.

That's right. The girl's little brother. He claimed that while they were walking home she stopped and told him to go home without him. She left him at the side of the street and just walked away from him. Away from him for five months now. No high school girl would ever go near Mugen-jou. It was like a death wish. And the girl did just that. She truly was odd.

Ban already knew that girl had a motive for going there. He just didn't know what the motive was. For now. Ban sighed at his partner. He raised his fist and drove it to the blonde's head. "You idiot. That's what we're here for. Retrieving something is like putting back the pieces of a puzzle." Ginji, despite the throb of his skull, smiled back at his partner. Complete faith in each other.

The two wordlessly stood, tucking in the seats they had just occupied and headed for the door. Ginji stopped for a second. "Thanks Shido, Kazu-chan! We've got enough information now for the job."

Like a fleeting storm, the two left to their car. Shido and Kazuki smiled at their former lord. Truly a wonderful man. Kazuki turned to Shido. The feminine male took a bell from his hair and looked at it. "Shido, did you know? Lately the wind has been restless. It's been singing to me through the thread." Shido looked at his friend. Of course he knew. The wind had been restless. So had the animals. The wind sang.

_Raise me_

_Raise me_

_Show me your violence_

_

* * *

_

"The cicadas is caught

the children are cruel

rip apart its wings

rip apart its legs

the poor cicadas

nothing but a children's toy."

Her chest rose and fell. Quietly breathing, in and out, in and out. The man came, having cleansed the previous red from his hands. Away with the thin red mask. Walking up to the sleeping girl, he stopped in front of the metal table. It slanted, making it at an angle from being perpendicular to the floor, her wrists hung painfully from its restraints, the force of gravity straining it. Red and raw. Everything on her was caked with red. The once white shirt she had on was now a rusty brown and stiff, oxidation doing its part to the blood. Caked and smeared everywhere. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek. It too was bloody. His thumb caressed the broken skin with care, rubbing away the red to reveal a sallow white. How pretty. She shone in the dank room. Her red shone. Her sallow skin shone. Beautifully revolting.

The girl's eyelids fluttered. He smiled and raised his arms to the cuffs. Click. Click. Her upper body fell to him. Strength was something this girl had gone without for a long time. He leaned down. Click. Click. The cuffs at her ankle were unlocked as well revealing the raw flesh. She was released from her binds. He sat down on the ground, his back leaning towards the metal table she had previously rested on, the pool of red did not concern him the least. Cradling like a babe, an arm around her waist, the other caressing her cheek, like a lover would. Like.

Butterfly wings, her eyes fluttered open slowly. He held his breath. Her eyes, those fierce blue eyes. No, they were empty now. How wonderful. They looked at him though at the same time they looked through him. Blue whirlpools. Gravity would always suck you in. Finally, when her eyes focused on the red orbs on her they widened. Red. Shiver. Fear. So much fear. Her body squirmed to escape. Her limbs, weak from slightly atrophied muscle tissue, tried their best to push the man away. Using the hand that caressed her cheek he held the hands together. She stilled now. Their eyes connected.

He stared into her fear.

She stared at her death.

Her mouth opened. Parched and dried lips cracked. "…-umo…" Tears slipped free. Crystal liquid mingled with the blood. He released her now tired and useless arms and wiped the ears away. He wiped and wiped and wiped. Harder and harder. She whimpered, despite her efforts to stop the sound. Friction did its job and her face began to feel the burning sensation. She began to bleed. Her face became distorted with pain just as his strokes became harder. Rough. Fast. Pain. So fiercely, he wiped her tears away. He wiped the skin away. He wiped the flesh away. Gouge and gouge. Nail and all.

She cried her pain. It burned so much, he just kept ripping away. The pain was unbearable. She tried to muffle her screams. Nothing would reach his ears. It hurt so badly though. She couldn't help but give in to the scream in her throat. And he laughed and laughed.

He didn't stop until she stopped. The screaming stopped. Nothing but hoarse gasps of breath and the occasional sob. The pain was so intense, her salty tears ran into the freshly dug canal. White shone inside the red, her cheekbone could be seen now. He looked at his accomplishment, his breath ragged and tired. His hands were bloodied once again, flesh and blood under his nails. He fed on the moans of pain, his body ached to cause more pain. It was like an itch. He was not satisfied. He leaned in. His tongue slipped out his lips. Black hair, like ink, curtained them from the world. And his tongue dragged through the wound. Through the destroyed muscles. Down to the bone.

He lifted away from her crying form, still cradling her. Closing his mouth he tasted the red. So clean and pure. She was so vulnerable. She was so wrecked. He brushed her matted hair as she sobbed. Never once had she begged him to stop. What a strong child. She solely lived on her pride and will now. Her will to live and her pride of past.

Unexpectedly, with strength that could not exist, she grabbed the lapel of his bloodied lab coat. Her thin wrist threatened to break under the strain of her own sudden strength. She gasped from the pain, tears still falling. She gasped for air and finally she began shakily.

"…-umo…stop the…-mic wheels…" Barely understandable to others but not to him.

And her hands slipped away. She fell limp in his arms, not unconscious but close to it. Her strength was spent now. She was tired from those words, she was tired from her pain. She looked into his crazed and lustful red eyes with her dead blue ones. She saw his grin and she knew her words fell on deaf ears. This man would never stop. It was destiny. They were bound together by fate. A cruel, cruel fate that would not allow her to escape. She would never escape from him. Now she knew, fate spat at her and destiny ruined her. She could never change it. This would be an endless cycle. Like samsara. Suffer.

"They will never stop, Little Kagome. I will never stop. We can never stop." He grinned and sang, "Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage. When will you come out?" And lulled by these haunting words, these disgusting words, she fell into slumber. He chuckled. The white shone in the red. Her beautifully mutilated face.

He lifted her to a cot nearby. She would not wake from this slumber for hours to come. She needed time. Time to revive. Live again. Live. Restart. He left her.

She acted strong in front of him. But she was nothing more then a newborn calf now in the safety of her unconsciousness. She begged to herself in her dreams. She begged.

_Raise me_

_Raise me_

Twisted, she begged. Weakened, she begged. Not to anyone in particular. She just couldn't help but beg:

_Show me your violence_

Twisted.

Restart.

* * *

The streets of Shinjuku were as noisy as ever. The boy spat at the streets. _Trash._ His eyes were a hardened stone. Like hard cobalt blues. His school uniform, neat and pressed fitted his body perfectly. A model student. His demeanor though, was one of a burdened man. A burdened man who could barely breath under the immense weight. Figurative weight, of course. The weight was entirely too much for a young boy of 11 years of age.

Midday was passing by rapidly but he walked. The cackling faces of young girls in entirely too short dresses, their overgrown breasts displayed to the world. Disgusting. Thugs were walking around like they owned the place to themselves. Arrogant pests. He hated them. They were nothing but trash.

Everyday now, his feet brought him back. A map that was burned into his mind. He couldn't help but come back to this place. This dreaded place. Gritty and trashy. He stopped in front of the tower. Mugen-jou. The height of it dwarfed all the buildings surrounding it. A terrifying and ominous tower. He despised it.

His eyes landed on the tower. His lips were a thin line. They moved. Moved and opened. "Bring her back. Bring her back." His murmurs were unheard. He stood there, staring. "Bring her back now." Unanswered prayers. If it weren't for her words he would have already entered the place. Entered it and flipped the place over, tearing it apart. Looking for her. Even if he knew it was suicide, he would have gone inside to look for her. He would, if only she didn't say otherwise to him.

"_Souta. There's something I have to do in there." Souta looked to his sister. His loving, brave, strong sister._

"_But, that's Mugen-jou." Not a lot said, but the very thought of Mugen-jou itself was terrifying enough already. He heard the stories. Students were the best source of fast information._

_She stood there staring at the tower. He looked at her. Soundlessly she placed a hand on his head and ruffled affectionately. His hair flew all over the place. The gel he recently bought for his hair became his enemy._

"_H-hey! Cut it out sis!" He mock hit her hand away, looking at her with a frown, but mirth filled his eyes. She smiled back down at him. She leaned to his height and kissed him on the cheek. Souta's face burned up and he sputtered, crying out in embarrassment. She straightened herself up and grabbed his shoulders, effectively ceasing his embarrassed rant. She looked him in the eye, cobalt to sapphire._

"_Souta, listen. There's something I absolutely have to do in there and under no circumstances do you walk through those doors. Do you understand me? Do not go into Mugen-jou. Ever. Tell mom I'll be home late tonight. I'm not asking this as a favor, I'm saying this as your big sister. Please, don't EVER go into Mugen-jou." No matter what happens to me._

_She left out those last words but it was a given. She gave him a kiss again, this time he did not react with sibling disgust, instead he just put his hand to his cheek and rubbed gently. She smiled at him. Her sapphire blue eyes were like the ocean. They held passion as strong as flames but were so kind. Strong and unpredictable. She was his sister. She was so kind._

_She began walking away from him, towards the ominous tower. Crossing the street he could not shake the feeling of unease and fear. He felt it. Like if he let her go, she would never come back. Like the well. He called. "Come back soon Kagome!"_

_She reached the door already. Turning to face him she waved. He couldn't see her face clearly due to the distance and traffic but he waved back. And she opened the door and went inside. Inside for five months. Five months and counting._

Souta's fists clenched. _"Tell mom I'll be home late tonight."_ What a load of bull. He shook in anger. 'Tell her yourself sis… Tell her yourself!' He raged quietly. This tower. This despicable tower. These revolting people. He hated them all. And he missed her. He missed her so much. There was no longer someone to protect her when she went off into an adventure. No golden-eyed savior. No heroic icon he could count on to make sure his sister came back safely. Fairy tails like that don't exist anymore. She only had herself. He wished he had gone with her.

It wasn't until someone bumped into him did he stop the overflowing rage and sorrow.

He looked at the man that walked into him. Blue. Sapphire blues. He gapped.

Ban pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose, looking down at the kid he just bumped into. He could feel it. He knew Ginji could feel it. This kid was burning with anger. "Oi, brat. Watch where you're standing." The boy just stared at him, a bit like a fish out of water. His blue eyes watched behind tinted shades as the boy took a step back and bowed. "Sorry." He took a drag and lightly rapped the boy's skull. They boy yelped in surprise. "That's what you get for dazing out in the middle of the street, brat."

Souta's eyes widened. He watched as a blond fellow walked next to the rude brunette. "You don't have to pick a fight with everybody Ban-chan!" The blond apologized for the brunette who was already walking away from the scene. Souta stood in a daze. It wasn't until he realized the direction they were heading to did he snap out of it. Mugen-jou. He bristled. "My name's Souta! It's not 'brat'!" The two were already too far away from him to hear his yell. He watched as they entered the door. The same door his sister went in. And he watched, as it slammed shut.

Souta stared at the door for second before turning on his heel. He had enough of this place today. He would head home. Head home and think. Those man's eyes. So strong. Just like his beloved sister.

* * *

As the steel doors of Mugen-jou closed behind them, Ginji looked to Ban. That kid… "Ban-chan. Did you know that kid?" His partner acknowledged. "Ah, that brat was Higurashi, Souta. The target's younger brother." Ginji nodded. He looked down the winding alleyways of Mugen-jou's Lower Town. Indeed a labyrinth for monsters and scum.

"Let's go Ginji." Ban moved and Ginji followed.

_Raise me_

_Raise me_

_Show me your violence_

_

* * *

_

Yes, I've finished another chapter and this is a little bit longer than the last one. I think I should retract my statement on this story being slightly dark because the scene I just wrote out was pretty dark in my book. Tell me if you think I should put up a warning stating so.

Just a note, I wrote 'snake-bitch' instead of 'snake-bastard' because I thought it would sound better. Bastard just has too many syllables. For those of you who are not familiar with Hindu and Buddhist religion, **samasara** is the endless cycle of rebirth all Hindi and Buddhist try to escape by reaching Nirvana. Learned the term in religion class and thought it would fit here pretty well. If you read the manga version of Get Backers, you might be able to pick up where 'Show me your violence' is from.

As for the man with Kagome, people might be able to figure out now.

A shout out to **kenjo, ksbaby07, and BadGothicChick. **Thank you so much for your kind reviews. They really encouraged me to go with this story. I'm pretty sure all my updates wouldn't be this speedy. I will do my best to keep up with the story. Unlike previous stories I've done, I actually have a plot figured out for this one. I hope I can see it to the end.

Please give any feedback you have. If you find my style of writing annoying to you with it's repetitions and stuff tell me and I'll see what I can do. This style of writing is something that just comes pretty naturally to me so I'm not sure if it's considered 'good' or 'bad' but I enjoy it quite a lot. Just some honest feedback to help me improve please.


	3. Chapter 3

So… It's been a while since I last updated. It's been a busy month. Anyways… Enjoy!

I don't own Inuyasha or Get Backers.

* * *

Dank, dark, cold and bleak. Every one of Kagome's senses sprang to life when a piercing scream ripped through the air. At that instance, she felt everything around her come at once. The gravity of her body, the cold in the air, the smell of blood everywhere. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Blue gems, scratched and dull.

She lifted her head up, her neck straining due to the sudden change in position. How long had she been out? She couldn't remember. She moved her hands, they were shackled again. She felt tears brim her eyes and she let her head fall back to its previous position.

She despaired, she cried. She felt herself fall. Amidst her tears and sorrow she sang, through the cries of another person's pain. She drowned out the sounds with her own voice of pain.

"The cicadas is caught

the children are cruel

rip apart it's wings

rip apart it's legs

the poor cicadas

nothing but a children's toy."

Lullaby, lullaby to her and lullaby to the people trapped in a similar fate. She sang it to the moans and groans of those around her. Even though she did not know their faces, she knew what they were. Experiments. Nothing but experimental material for that devil. That devil in the skin of man.

Onigumo.

All concept of time had been lost to her, seconds felt like hours, a day felt like a month. If Kagome guessed, she had been there for at least three lifetimes. Forever didn't seem that far off from her now. She was scared.

She blinked with dull blue eyes. Her face no longer seared with pain. The gouge was gone. She gritted her teeth. A constant reminder. The absence of pain was worse than the pain itself. She hated this cursed fate. She hated _fate_. Her thin hands clenched in anger. The rage was close to all consuming. She wanted to be free. She yearned to feel the sun on her skin. She missed her family.

Liquid crystal fell from her eyes, her tears staining the ground in front of her, hands letting go of whatever she was trying to hold on. She was so weak. Futile, she moved her arms in the shackle, begging, hoping, that something would go her way. That by some divine intervention, her shackles would open and she would be free to walk out of this hell. This hell with moans and groans. This hell with blood and gore. This hell with him.

Almost feverously, her arms fought against the zero gravity alloy imprisonments. The sounds of the chains resonated through the lab. She tried, she tried and tried and tried. Nothing worked, the metal being too strong for her weakened and malnourished state. She tried so hard but she just could not break free. She was so _weak._ Fate was one enemy she could not go up against. There was no way she could escape. The tears fell rapidly. Like hard rain, large and heavy. How could she ever escape?

The door opened and Kagome's head shot up. Footsteps. Footsteps of more than one person. What could she do to escape such a fate when her body was so useless now? Her head hung lowly, she wanted to give in. She wanted to give up and let them do all they want to her. She wanted death.

The footsteps were close.

Her eyes were lax and empty. He had broken her so much. She was tired. She was almost gone. Almost. Even though the man wore her down time and time again, a small part of her told her to hang on. She tried. She tried so hard to just hang on. It was torturous. She tried to be strong. She tried to keep her will from waning. She tried to keep the pride of her _friends_ from dying. She was trying so hard, but it was only a matter of time. She was no longer the strong-willed girl she once was. She wanted nothing more than to end it all. She wanted the satisfaction of peace and rest. Rest from her hell. Shameful but true. She was nothing more but a torn up rag doll.

She clenched her teeth in agony. This was so torturous. Even so, her pride, _their _pride would not allow her to die like this. Her obligations to them kept her going. She would endure it. For them, she would endure a fate worse than hell.

"I see you're awake, Little Kagome." She looked at the speaker. His red eyes bore into her. She wanted to flinch, she wanted to run, but she swallowed her emotions and stared into his eyes defiantly. She would stand.

She opened her parched and impossibly dry mouth. Her lips cracked painfully, small lacerations opening red rivers. Hoarse. "Onigumo, I see you're still just a mere shadow of your past." Her voice cracked and broke, water not having touched her lips for the longest time. Only the taste of metallic red.

He answered her with nothing. Silently, he strode up to her. With one step, he was face to face with her. Her dull blue eyes stared into his hellfire red. She flinched at the rage in his eyes. Those words struck deep and hard. A wound hundreds of years old. Throbbing. He lifted his hands and reached for her. She immediately reeled back, her head banging on the metal table. His hands touched the valley of skin right under her neck. She shivered at the feel of his cold hands. He reached and grabbed the bauble hanging there. The crystal clear bauble shone in the light. She glared at him despite her fear.

The small sphere, once a brilliant pink, now just a clear orb. Its abilities had long since disappeared. Kagome almost laughed at that thought. 'Wishes are naught but fables. How cruel of you Midoriko.' Kagome's attention was brought back to the present abruptly when Onigumo released the orb. She looked up at him only to see the smoldering anger in his eyes. He reached for her hand, shackled and raw. Taking it, he held her pinky finger in a crushing grip. She bit back any sound. No satisfaction for him.

"Little Kagome, it seems you still have a bit of fire left in you if you're saying things like that." He brought his hand foreward, twisting her pinky back. She gave a small yelp of pain. "You are just such an entertainment. Such fire even after all this time." He sneered. "Regretting those words already?" Kagome felt tears build up in her eyes but she held back. She had to keep a strong face. She looked up and spat in his eye. Onigumo replied by thrusting his arm forward, resulting in a sickening snap.

She screamed.

He wiped his face. "Your voice is as beautiful as always Little Kagome. Wouldn't you agree Mr. Client?" Kagome's blood froze at those words. Client. Oh God. Her broken hand jittered. She trembled violently. She was so terrified. Her tears would not stop. She wanted to cradle her twisted hand.

'Client.'

The very word had sent her into a mass panic. Her breath caught, her eyes widened. 'Kami-sama, oh God, please don't. Not now. Please, please please…' Pathetically, she begged God. 'Please make it stop. No more pain. No more. No more.' Her pleas remain unanswered.

The other man just answered with a chuckle. "I've heard that you were a sick man Onigumo-san, but this is just rich. I think I'm going to have fun with this one. I've been meaning to try some things out now."

Onigumo smiled. "I'm sure you will find this one quite the fun one to play with. Do anything you want, cut her, hit her, kill her. Everything is fair game here." He laughed at the frightened expression on Kagome's face, eyes wide and pale. He turned, leaving the room and his client to their own devices. "Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage…"

Kagome shifted her eyes from Naraku's retreating back and stared at the 'client' in front of her. Client, nothing more then some weak bastard testing their skills. Yes, under MakubeX's rules, thugs like them find it harder and harder to get 'training targets' to use. Onigumo supplied these bastards with people to play with, amongst other roles. They were like cattle being led to the slaughterhouse. She gritted her teeth and shook. No weakness in front of them. They love torturing the weak. In her mind though, her pleas did not stop. Her rage and fear bubbled to the surface and almost like a beast she screamed. Snap, snap, break. Deranged and insane. Insanity was all consuming.

_Raise me_

_Raise me_

She snarled at the client. Baring her teeth, she wanted nothing more than to rip the man apart. She challenged him, despite the consequences.

"_Show me your violence!"_

_

* * *

_

Ginji's brows furrowed as he walked alongside his partner through the dark alleyways of Mugen-jou. He was curious. "Ne Ban-chan, how are we going to find this girl? I mean, there are literally hundreds of places she could be in Mugen-jou and the only clue we have is that there have been an increase of activity in this area." Ginji was stumped. He had no idea how to even begin to search for the girl and his partner was already nose-diving into it. He knew though, Midou Ban was a terrifyingly smart man.

Ban just kept walking, his nicotine stick perpetually hanging from his lips. "Remember how we read in the report that there was a genius body modifier hanging around these parts lately. Every since MakubeX's rule, body modifiers have become less and less due to the inhumane ways of human experimentation." Ban took a drag. He had to give the kid credit, at the age of 14 and already ruling a place like Lower Town. Luckily they beat human values into that brat already. "If we just find some body-mod freaks hanging around here, we can follow him to the modification surgeon."

Ginji's eyes lit up. "Ban-chan! You're a genius!" The blond all but shouted his glee for his ingenious partner. The brunette immediately grabbed the blond and bopped him on the head. "Shut up you idiot! We don't need all of Mugen-jou hearing us!" Equally as loudly.

Already, they drew a crowd. The gang cackled in a very thug-like fashion, everything about them screamed mediocrity. All twenty of them. Ginji gulped. "Crap, we were too loud." Ban only smirked. Cracking his knuckles, he lightly pushed Ginji forward. "That's great, we don't have to find these lowlifes. We just need to sift through all this trash now." Ginji nodded, tugging his gloves so that they fit more snuggly. "Ah, I got it Ban."

The thugs, their faces all distorted and ruined, convened. "Raitei, it's Raitei… Take his head, take his head, take his head…" Ginji cringed at the name. Raitei, he hated him. He no longer acknowledged that name as his own. No, he would not be called Raitei. He looked at Ban. Ban looked straight ahead at the enemies but lifted his arm and placed his calloused hand on top of the blonds' head. Ginji just couldn't help but let a small smile crack onto his face. Ban always knew how to make him feel better. He always knew _who_ Ginji was. He wasn't Raitei. No, he was Amano Ginji. The 'G' in _GetBackers_.

"_Raitei, Raitei, Raitei, Raitei…"_

Ginji was already sick of their chanting. He lunged at the oddly dressed offenders in front of him, his fists crackling with electricity. Before they could even react, he was on them, gripping their necks and bursting out volts like it was nothing. He was invincible in Mugen-jou's unlimited energy supply. They were already intimidated.

"Hmmm, Raitei really does deserve that title. Just makes him all the more worth while to beat down!" They laughed and almost all of them went for the green clad blond. Before they could even lay a hand on him he made an electric field, stunning all those who went too close. He was impenetrable. Ban smirked at his partner's powers. Truly a strong individual indeed.

An extreme red-headed man, seeing the brunette just standing and watching the show, decided to sneak up on him. He smirked, those filth that were fighting the blond could all go die for all he cared. No, he was different. He had the power to do it. He was the epitome of strength. His limbs could never fail him. He enlisted _that_ man's help. He would rise above them. Slowly, silently, he walked behind the purple-shaded man. His elbows, protruding disgustingly with artificial zero-gravity alloy implants, were raised. Poised to kill. When he was within striking distance of the brown haired man, he jumped and angled himself where his elbow headed towards the brunette's cranium. He laughed almost manically as he felt his attack land, feeling his alloy rip flesh. His pleasure was short-lived though for he felt something grip the base of his neck. Looking in front of him, he saw air. He began to sweat.

"What the fuck are you aiming for? With speed like yours, you wouldn't even be able to kill a snail." The man could feel Ban applied pressure. The man fell to his knees, quivering. Ban's eyes narrowed. "If I squeeze just a little more, your neck is done for. Have you every heard a neck snap?" Ban smirked at the thug's fear. It showed in his shaking form.

Hearing several thuds, Ban looked at his partner to see that he had finished off everyone, all being down and fried. Ginji grinned at his partner. "So what do we do now?" Ban could only sigh. Sometimes Ginji was a little too dense. "Give me your belt, we finally found ourselves a bloodhound." Ginji, though confused, did as he was told, unbuckling his belt and handing it to his partner. Ban proceeded to tie up the villain and gave a harsh kick, the belt acting as a leash to the man.

The thug could only sweat bullets. "W-what are you doing to do to me?" Ginji frowned at his partner's extreme methods. Good old Ban-chan. Ban just smiled. "Listen up freakazoid, you're gonna be a good little puppy and lead us to the one who helped you implant these." To emphasis his point, Ban gripped one of the man's elbow implants and proceeded to snap the durable metal. The man could only quiver in fear and pain. Ban could only smile, shifting his shades to hid his eyes.

No words were needed from the man.

"Good."

Ginji could only sigh as they began to walk. His partner was extreme. He glanced at Ban from the corner of his eye. The brunette remained unaware. Ginji smiled. Yes, he was extreme. But so was he.

"Hurry up Ginji. I'll leave you behind." Ban waved from a distance ahead.

"Ah, I'm coming!"

* * *

Shinosuke, Takeshi could only despair. The brunette and blond made a monstrous pair. His whole gang was taken down in no more then five minutes. A pair that could do that was horrifying.

His hands shook.

Still, leading them back to Onigumo would be suicide. After forming his gang, he was able to scrounge up enough money to 'enhance' his body. He had heard the underground whispers of the work of one Onigumo, Naraku. A genius body modifier and the claimed underground ruler of Lower Town. That man was horrifying. Killing would be anything but below him. He'd seen what he had done to people. He shivered at the memory.

It seemed that anything would go with the man. He was just ruthless.

He stared at his captors. They too would kill him if he so much as took them the wrong direction. Either way it was a die or die situation.

Shinosuke, Takeshi cursed his luck.

'_Fuck fate…'_

_

* * *

_

"Ahhh… stop… it hurts… stop…"

"What happened to _'show me your violence'_?"

After Onigumo's departure the _client_ dragged the weak girl by her broken hand into a room. Upon entering the small space the sickening smell of old blood and rotting flesh hit her sensitive nose. Unshackled but unable to fight, she crumpled to the center of the room where the client threw her. She fell in a pile of atrophied muscles.

Already, it had been half an hour since he started his practice.

Red was precariously thrown everywhere in the small room. Kagome could only moan her pains to the man in front of her. The _client._ She was delirious. Her pain had already overpowered her senses. She couldn't comprehend anything anymore.

The client only continued. "Ne, Hiyoko-chan." Kagome didn't reply to the sickly sweet name the man gave her. He continued anyways.

"Do you know what my technique does?" He continued to dig his serrated knife into the flesh of her unbroken arm, ripping it. Already, her lifeblood was almost gone. Kagome's dulled eyes cried in response as she started to convulse from shock.

The man just smiled as he separated her flesh from her bone with expert hand in a speed that was almost incomprehensible. "I am like an artist." He kept going, she kept bleeding.

"This technique was passed down from my mother. It takes steady hands and expert imagination to find and cut away the meat from bone. Almost like a butcher." The pool below her grew.

"But we always leave the prey alive." He stopped, her ulna and radius gleaming bare white. He placed his finger on the bones that were exposed.

Already, the man was exhausted. He stopped himself from going any further. "Of course Hiyoko-chan, I'm nothing but a beginner." The man stood up from the bleeding girl, her pale white, icy skin stained with more than half her body's blood supply. He just walked past her towards the door.

Before exiting the small white room from the steel-framed door he looked at her from over his shoulder. "I hope we will continue our 'tutoring sessions' again. I like your teachings Hiyoko-chan." And with that, the door closed with a deafening silence.

Kagome laid in a pool. Her pool of life-red. She was gone. Her blank eyes looked towards nothing. Her cold and pale body was still, the convulsions having stopped a while ago. Her hands were mutilated, flesh and bones were clearly visible in one and the other was twisted beyond recognition. She was broken. Her life was already broken. Even though, her twisted hand held onto the clear bauble. The bauble shone on, despite the red that encircled and embraced it. It shone red. It shone on uselessly. It shone through the twisted fingers, like an egg inside a twisted nest. A lifeless nest. A dead nest.

"…_Kagome, Kagome_

_the bird in the cage."_

_

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_

Quick note, _Hiyoko_ means a chick, a baby bird. Fitting, or so I thought.

Thank you, to everyone who reviewed last time. Lemme give the shout out now.

To: **Mz Mischief, Shin Wal-New Moon-, and **_**Kenjo**_

Thank you three for reviewing my story, especially **Kenjo **for reviewing _twice! _You're words are very kind and give me the push to write this story. Thank you so much for you reviews again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Please review if you have the chance!


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